Voting Rights

"The whole concept is backwards. It’s about discouraging people from voting," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/NY, which has sued and won to reform the purging of voters in New York.

"We're glad to see Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden step up to become poll sites, but other cultural institutions need to do their civic duty too,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/NY. She also noted that many of the cultural institutions that receive public support and tax benefits are either empty or operating at reduced capacity.

Advocates and elected officials, including Brooklyn Borough President and mayoral-hopeful Eric Adams, have been pushing the city Board of Elections since February to undertake a serious public education effort to inform voters on the new voting method. At a February news conference in front of the board's office in Lower Manhattan, Adams, along with Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel of Brooklyn, and Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause NY, called for the city to allocate $10 million for the effort.

It is our position that while there were undoubtedly unforced errors along the way, that overall, the Boards of Elections did a credible job of navigating unprecedented circumstances and did their best to rapidly scale up a previously sleepy absentee voting program. However, there is much to improve looking ahead to November in what is arguably the most consequential election in recent history.

"The June primary election was unprecedented, but democracy does not pause, it adapts," said Susan Lerner, executive director of the good government group Common Cause New York, in a press statement from the coalition, which is comprised of over 175 organizations. "New York lawmakers must prioritize planning for the November election today. The Boards of Elections need ample time to prepare for the Presidential Election to guarantee that all votes count."

"The deadline is crucial in order to make sure that the Board can purchase the necessary upgrades to the existing voting machines for ranked-choice voting," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York.